Chinese Migrant Entrepreneurs in Venezuela’s Crisis Economy

• In Event: Chinese Migration in Latin America: Transnational Histories and Local Entanglements

Abstract

This paper examines the trajectory of Chinese migrants in Venezuela, focusing on their roles as economic actors, informal suppliers, and adaptive agents during periods of national upheaval. Drawing primarily from migrants originating in Enping, Guangdong, the study examines how Chinese-owned restaurants, grocery stores, and import shops flourished during Venezuela’s oil-fueled boom, at times earning hundreds of dollars daily. However, with the onset of hyperinflation, supply chain disruptions, and state collapse in the 2010s, many of these businesses began to operate at a loss, struggling to source basic goods and retain staff. In response, Chinese entrepreneurs relied on informal transnational logistics, sourced from Colombia, Panama, and the Caribbean, to sustain their operations. Their efforts, while profit-driven, effectively supplemented a dysfunctional public provisioning system.

This paper combines diaspora studies and crisis-state scholarship to argue that Chinese migrants emerged not merely as economic survivors but as semi-institutional actors within a failing state apparatus. Drawing on preliminary fieldwork plans and secondary sources, the study also traces a recent reversal: following modest signs of economic stabilization, some Chinese migrants are now returning to Venezuela, re-opening businesses and re-engaging with local markets. This case provides insight into the dynamic interplay between migration, informality, and crisis governance in Latin America, while highlighting the long-term embeddedness of Asian diasporas in shaping the region's socio-economic fabric.

Authors

• Xinyuan Pan, peking university

• Jing Zhang, Peking University